Food, function and form come together in AD’s latest gallery—a stylish display of appliances, cabinetry, sinks and counter space designed with the serious cook in mind.

For a neo-Mediterranean-style house in Belvedere, California, architect Howard J. Backen collaborated with his clients, Restoration Hardware chairman, CEO and president Gary Friedman and his wife, designer Kendal Agins Friedman, co-owner of Agins Interiors. The layout of the kitchen “was dictated by windows and light,” says Backen. The painting is by Paul Manes. Range and butcher block from La Cornue, at Abt.com. (October 2008)

Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer

“This is a view house,” says architect Chad Floyd, of Centerbrook Architects and Planners in Connecticut, who rebuilt Susan Adler’s Massachusetts retreat, set on a striking hillside in the Berkshires. Above: The galley kitchen. Franke sinks, Wolf range and Sub-Zero refrigerator, at Abt.com. (October 2008)

Photo: Jeff Goldberg/Esto

“Our challenge was to create something clean and modern that measured up to the sublime beauty of the site,” architect Robert V. Arrigoni says of the weekend house he and his associate Earl Wilson, of BAR Architects, designed for Yvonne and Angelo Sangiacomo in Pebble Beach, California. Above: A pyramidal pickled-teak ceiling adds a rustic touch in the kitchen. “It’s a plain and neutral palette, so the textural materials provide the patterning,” remarks designer Michael Booth. A pantry is at rear. Maurer designed the hanging light fixtures. Stainless-steel range and hood from La Cornue. Viking wall oven. Refrigerator, Sub-Zero. KitchenAid dishwasher. (October 2007)

Photo: Scott Frances

Architect Oscar Shamamian, of Ferguson & Shamamian, collaborated with New York-based interior designer Victoria Hagan on an 8,000-square-foot, Shingle Style summer house overlooking the water on Nantucket for a couple and their three children. Above: The kitchen, where the family takes most meals, “has the charm of an older house but with a modern emphasis on the relationship to the outside,” Hagan points out. The faucet is from Waterworks. Sub-Zero refrigerator. Viking range. Pot filler, Chicago Faucets. Nanz hardware. (October 2005)

Photo: Peter Aaron/Esto

Professional cyclist Lance Armstrong lives in a Spanish colonial-style house in Austin, Texas. Family photographs and a photograph by Danny Lyon, by the door, decorate the kitchen. Swaim barstools. Osborne & Little banquette vinyl. Vent and Viking range and microwave, at Abt.com. Kohler sinks. (July 2008)

Photo: Robert Reck

“I learned about New Mexico when I first started dating Jane Fonda,” remarks Ted Turner, who built a private desert lodge on Armendaris Ranch, his 350,000-acre wild animal preserve along the dramatic Fra Cristobal Mountains. Above: “The kitchen was based on historic kitchens of Spanish colonial homes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico,” explains Laura Hunt. Wolf range and Sub-Zero refrigerator, at Abt.com. Faucet from Kohler. (June 2008)

Photo: Robert Reck

Ellen Denisevich-Grickis found an 18th-century barn in Ontario, Canada, and had it relocated to a four-acre plot in Rhode Island, where she renovated it for use as a summer house for herself and her husband, Bill Grickis, and their two daughters. Interconnected with the living and dining areas, the modern kitchen has floors of concrete mixed with chips of mirror, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell and sea glass. Hanging above the Shaker-style island is a Murano glass chandelier. Viking dishwasher, range and hood, at Abt.com. (June 2008)

Photo: Richard Mandelkorn

In the Dallas penthouse of H. Ross Perot, Jr., and his wife, Sarah, Emily Summers designed a modern décor inspired by the sky, the couple’s collection of British contemporary art—“As it turned out, a lot of their artwork has incredible blues,” notes Summers—and his passion for aviation. Above: The kitchen can accommodate both caterers for large events and the family for private meals. Banquette fabric, Lee Jofa. Bulthaup kitchen elements. Brueton barstools. (March 2008)

With the help of architect Peter Cohen, chef Giada De Laurentiis and her husband, Todd Thompson, transformed their 1,600-square-foot residence in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles into a California contemporary home with twice the space. “The kitchen is the whole reason we tore our old house down and rebuilt,” Thompson says. The couple worked with designer Kevin Fitzsimons to create a room that was organized and modern. Varenna cabinetry by Poliform. Viking appliances, Kohler faucet and sink, and Sharp television, at Abt.com. (December 2008)